A TEENAGER from Westbury is preparing to trek to Mount Everest Base Camp in September, to raise money for the Make a Wish UK, a charity which means a lot to him and his family.
19-year-old Christian Dalby, a student at the University of Kent, will trek for 11 days with a group of friends and his girlfriend, through the Himalayas to reach Everest Base Camp to raise money for Make A Wish UK. Christian has already been fundraising for the charity by doing bucket collections, raffles and sold Easter gift bags. He will also be holding a table top sale and coffee morning on Saturday 29th April at the Leigh Park Community Centre.
Christian said, “I wanted to do something amazing this year, so I decided on trekking to Everest Base Camp in aid of Make A Wish UK.
“Make A Wish UK grants magical wishes to enrich the lives of children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions. I hope to help them continue this amazing work. The charity is close to mine and my family’s heart as we know a young boy who was granted a wish by the charity five years ago.”
Susan and Trevor Brown, friends of Christian’s family, explain why the charity is so important.
They said, “Josh, now nine years old, was diagnosed with a CD40 ligand deficiency otherwise known as X-linked Hyper IgM at six months old, he also had a secondary condition of severe neutropenia. He had a 10/10 fully matched unrelated donor, reduced intensity conditioning, peripheral stem cell transplant at Great Ormond Street hospital on November 25th 2009 when he was 21 months old. He spent 12 weeks in hospital and is now considered stable.
“In September 2012, Make A Wish UK granted Josh’s wish to go to Legoland and stay in a pirate-themed room. We spent four wonderful days having fun and Josh had the most amazing time going on all the rides and playing with Lego. He even got some Lego goodies and some dress-up clothes, which he loved.
“Make A Wish UK are amazing and we really can’t thank them enough for granting our little boy’s wish.”
Christian added, “I wanted to do something big and this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m a little nervous as I’ve not done anything like this before, but I’m excited as I know it’s going to be an amazing experience.
“I’m trying to raise £2,800 so no matter how small, any donation will help me reach this daunting target and every little bit of it will be appreciated by myself, Make-A-Wish and those helped by them.”
To donate, visit https://kentragebc2017.everydayhero.com/uk/christianeverest
